Area: 916,445 sq km (353,841 sq mi) Population (2014 est.): 30,208,000 Capital: Caracas Head of state and government: President Nicolás Maduro Throughout 2014 Pres. Nicolás Maduro maneuvered to consolidate his control over a deeply divided Venezuela. During the first quarter of the year, demonstrations against his government by middle-class Venezuelans broke out in most cities, with dozens of casualties among the protesters. Residents of the country’s shantytowns, the armed forces, and the police mobilized in support of Maduro. In April and May demonstrations waned. Fissures opened between moderate and hard-line factions of the opposition over strategies and tactics for challenging the government. The imprisonment of Leopoldo López, the leader of hard-liners, elicited only feckless protests from the moderates. Efforts by UNASUR foreign ministers to mediate the larger conflict proved ineffectual. The government confirmed its intractability in July by ordering the detention of several...